5 Good-Lookin’ Sideboards

If you want to streamline the look of a room, or need to hide work or toys or dinner plates when the day is done, a sideboard might be your answer. Originating centuries ago, the sideboard exploded into popularity in the ‘50s when the average household found itself affluent enough to have a dining room—and a need for storing all of those serving platters and linens.

The sideboard today has escaped its limited use in the dining room, and can provide a sophisticated way to add more functionality to any space. Here are 5 good-looking sideboards, and 5 ways to use them to simplify your dwelling.

#1 – Traditional Sideboards

If you entertain often, the traditional use of a sideboard can be chic and handy. Bring out the dishes and silverware for dining, tuck them away when done, and use the surface for cocktail service, after-dinner coffee service, or a brunch tea station.

#2 – Hideaway Office

If you work from home, using a sideboard as office space allows you to work in a multi-purpose room such as the living room or kitchen table without overtaking the space with documents. Pull your laptop from the top drawer when work begins, and tuck it away when done.

#3 – Kid-Friendly Sideboards

If you have children, sideboards can be great toy centers. You want to still have grown-up space, but also make play easy for your children. When the right kinds of toys are low and accessible, the environment itself can become a teacher. You want to provide a learning atmosphere for those tots without tripping over the blocks after bedtime.

#4 – Teen-Friendly, Too

If you have teenagers, sideboards can act as lockers for the random stuff. Assign a drawer or shelf or cupboard for each teen and let them have the freedom to control what goes inside—as long as you don’t have to see clutter.

#5 – Collection Perimeter

If you love collections and order, use a sideboard as a collection perimeter. The sometimes chaos of a collection looks great within understood perimeters. Stack those vintage records, stack up those Italian carnival masks. Enjoy your expressed creativity without cluttering up your home.